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By Bill VlasicTHE NEW YORK TIMES • Thursday July 25, 2013 6:45 AM

DETROIT — A federal bankruptcy judge yesterday cleared the way for Detroit’s bankruptcy case to
go forward without legal challenges.

The decision by Judge Steven Rhodes of U.S. Bankruptcy Court freezes all litigation against the
city during the bankruptcy process and consolidates state-level legal challenges to Detroit’s
Chapter 9 filing into the federal bankruptcy case.

The federal bankruptcy court has “exclusive jurisdiction” over the case, he said, adding, “There
is no case law that holds otherwise.”

It was a dramatic beginning to the largest municipal bankruptcy case in U.S. history.

Rhodes attempted to put to rest a legal spat that began almost immediately after Detroit filed
for bankruptcy a week ago.On Friday, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina of Ingham County Circuit Court ruled
that the filing violated the state constitution, which protects the pensions of retired public
employees.

Aquilina’s ruling was appealed by the state attorney general to the Michigan Court of Appeals,
which on Tuesday issued a stay of her order pending its own ruling.

Rhodes’ ruling effectively gives him sole authority to rule on the issues raised by retired
public employees regarding their pensions.